Severe coarctation of the aorta with pulmonary edema. An unusual presentation of a traumatic aortic aneurysm.

A patient with an unrecognized rupture of the ascending aorta developed severe pulmonary edema three weeks following the initial injury. This is a distinctly unusual manifestation of this injury. Emergency resection of the traumatic aneurysm was required to reverse the rapidly deteriorating clinical situation. The early recognition and surgical treatment of this lesion would have avoided this complication.